1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable leg assembly adapted to permit a table top to be placed thereon, more particularly to a foldable leg assembly which is convenient to store and to erect.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional foldable leg assembly 1 which permits a table top 17 to be placed thereon. The conventional foldable leg assembly 1 includes four upright legs 11, each of which has a longitudinally extending accommodation chamber 111 therein. Each of the four upright legs 11 has a top end provided with an upper positioning seat 12 and a bottom end provided with a lower positioning seat 13. The lower positioning seats 13 close the bottom ends of the accommodation chambers 111. Each of the upper positioning seats 12 has a top face formed with a substantially straight groove 121 and provided with an upwardly protruding pin 122. The foldable leg assembly 1 further includes a pair of support rails 14, each of which is disposed on the upper positioning seats 12 of an adjacent pair of the upright legs 11. Each of the support rails 14 has two end portions, each of which is formed with a hole 141. The straight grooves 121 of an adjacent pair of the upper positioning seats 12 of the upright legs 11 are adapted to receive one of the support rails 14. The holes 141 in the support rails 14 are adapted for insertion of the upwardly protruding pins 122 of the upper positioning seats 12 therein. The outer diameter of the support rails 14 is smaller than the diameter of the accommodation chambers 111. Each of the upright legs 11 is provided with a sliding block 15 which is sleeved slidably on one of the legs 11. The foldable leg assembly 1 further includes eight links 16, each of which interconnects and is pivoted to one of the sliding blocks 15 and one of the upper positioning seats 12 in such a manner that two links 16 which are disposed between an adjacent pair of upright legs 11 are crossly pivoted to each other. A flexible table top 17, which is made of a plurality of movably interconnected wooden strips 171 parallel to each other, can be placed over the two support rails 14.
To use the conventional foldable leg assembly 1, the sliding blocks 15 are moved upwardly to permit the four upright legs 11 to be moved away from each other to form an unfolded configuration, in which the distance between the upwardly protruding pins 122 of the upper positioning seats 12 of an adjacent pair of upright legs 11 is equal to the distance between the two holes 141 of the support rails 14. Each of the support rails 14 is positioned in the substantially straight grooves 121 of the upper positioning seats 12 of an adjacent pair of the upright legs 11. The upwardly protruding pins 122 of the upper positioning seats 12 are fittingly inserted into the holes 141 of the support rails 14 to prevent movement of the support rails 14 with respect to the positioning seats 12. The table top 17 is then placed on the support rails 14 in such a manner that the wooden strips 171 of the table top 17 are perpendicular to the support rails 14. To fold the leg assembly 1, the table top 17 and the support rails 14 are removed to permit the upright legs 11 to move toward each other by moving the sliding blocks 15 downwardly on the legs 11. Then, two of the lower positioning seats 13 are removed so that the support rails 14 can be inserted into the accommodation chambers 111. The two lower positioning seats 13 are sleeved back onto the bottom ends of the two legs 11.
The conventional foldable leg assembly 1 is convenient to erect and occupies small space after being folded. However, the conventional leg assembly 1 still has the following defects and should be improved. To unfold the leg assembly 1, two lower positioning seats 13 should be removed and the support rails 14 should be taken out and positioned on the upper positioning seats 12. Moreover, the sliding blocks 15 must be moved to predetermined positions on the legs 11, in which the width of the leg assembly 1 is equal to the distance between the two holes 141 of each of the support rails 14. Since the space occupied by the leg assembly 1 is not adjustable, the leg assembly 1 is not suitable when there is no sufficient ground surface to place the leg assembly thereon. The use range of the leg assembly 1 is limited. Furthermore, the lower positioning seats 13 removed from the leg assembly 1 during erecting and folding procedure of the leg assembly 1 is easily loosened and lost.